Waddesdon Manor: The Heritage of a Rothschild House
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For years , the Asian Art Museum was one of San Francisco's best-kept secrets. It was the largest museum devoted to Asian art in the Western world, but its collection was housed in a wing of another museum where only a small fraction of the collection could be displayed. In 1997, it moved into a landmark 1916 building designed by George W. Kelham. The task of retaining the building's historic qualities while invigorating it with bold new elements was given to Milanese architect Gae Aulenti, who had previously transformed a beaux arts train station into the Muse, D'Orsay. The result is a blend of Beaux Arts traditionalism and sleek European modernism. This new addition to the Art Spaces series studies the history and design of one of America's most unique museums.Library JournalWaddesdon Manor was built in the last quarter of the 19th century, when Britain was at the height of its power. The home of Baron Ferdinand Rothschild, it is a magnificent French chateau in Buckinghamshire, near London, and it houses one of the finest collections of 18th-century French furniture to be found anywhere. Waddesdon is indeed one of the finest houses in England and remained in the family until it was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1957, which has maintained it in its original splendor. This volume by Hall, a deputy editor of Country Life magazine and author of The English Country House, traces the family of Ferdinand Rothschild, then describes the planning and building of this house and its gardens in rich detail. The volume is also a social history of one family and offers a vivid picture of the lives of the very rich in Victorian and Edwardian England. The narrative is clear and carefully researched, and the photographs are first class the number of illustrations is surprising in a volume so well priced. This volume deserves to be in most history and architecture collections. Martin Chasin, Adult Inst., Bridgeport, CT Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Prelude: Summer 1891 A Day in the Life of Waddesdon7Foreword151Ferdinand Rothschild and His Family192Building the House433Building the Collections734Furnishing the House1055Life at Waddesdon 1880-18981496Alice1797James and Dorothy2118The National Trust2499Lord Rothschild277Afterword: Summer 2001 A Day in the Life of Waddesdon305Acknowledgements and Bibliographical Notes310Rothschild Family Tree314Plan of the House315Photo Credits316Index317
